Our headlights extended over the dusty flats, a dry, cracked plain where even shrubbery refused to grow. A soft breeze filled the car as he stopped the engine and rolled down the windows. Darkness poured into the cabin as the air settled around us, the desert quickly forgetting our intrusion. “Do you have any more questions?” he asked. I ran …
The day was waning by the time I reached the cabin in the woods, about a mile’s hike from where the trees got too thick to drive any farther. I’d come prepared, climbing the hill and trekking down around the lip of the valley with my trusty worn boots and my pack bundled high on my back. The effort got …
“You really come prepared,” he said as I stabbed a tent stake into the sand. He loitered in his flip-flops, looking unsure of what to do with himself despite nailing the beach day look. Over his trunks, he wore a crisp white shirt that fluttered in the wind, allowing peekaboo glimpses of his skin, glistening with a hint of sweat …
Mari bounced up and down on a holographic trampoline in Eli’s living unit, a gaggle of chibis jumping with her. This time her holographic companions were a baker’s dozen of colorful blobs chirping “chibi” in harmonious tones with unblinking eyes like black buttons. Since arriving at the Hex, Mari had spent her slivers of free time unwinding at her new …